Conventionally known vehicle lighting units to be installed in vehicle bodies can include an elongated light guide body through which light can be guided for emission, thereby illuminating the entire light guide body.
Due to the problems in manufacturing or assembling, this type of vehicle lighting unit has a limitation on the length and shape of a single light guide body. If the light-emitting portion is configured to have a certain length or to have a complex shape, a plurality of light guide bodies are arranged so that respective ends are disposed in proximity to each other as if they are connected together while the light guide bodies are separately controlled for light emission. (See, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-60405 (or U.S. Pat. No. 6,530,683B1 corresponding thereto) and Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. Hei. 5-25602.)
However, if a plurality of light guide bodies are arranged in proximity to each other and separately controlled for light emission, the gap portion between the adjacent light guide bodies cannot be illuminated with light. Therefore, the light emission state as a whole may be observed not in an integrated fashion but in a skipped fashion with the not-lit gap portion, resulting in deteriorated appearance.